Cretan Treasure

AM visiting Crete.

While walking in the hills near the village of Fodele, I came across an interesting Byzantine church.

View while walking up to the church

Front view

View with mountains behind

It turns out the church is 11th century, built on sixth century foundations, and called Panagia (also transliterated as Panayia), ie dedictaed to the Virgin Mary.

Unfortunately the church is only open at weekends, but I may be able to return on Saturday, although it rather depends on matters not wholly in my control (I am playing in a chess tournament).

All Booked Up

I MENTIONED in an earlier post (http://timspanton.blogspot.com/2021/01/lockdown-irony.html) how a highly favourable review in Ancient Warfare magazine persuaded me to order Ian Hughes' biography of Attila from Pen & Sword.

It arrived on the same day as I went to a local Post Office to collect three books bought from Amazon.

These are Procopius's History Of The Wars, which covers the Roman Empire (aka the Byzantine Empire) under Justinian I taking on Persians, Vandals and Ostrogoths.

I have tried many times to buy the books in a bookshop, especially Foyles in Charing Cross Road.

But the only Procopius volume I have seen there is his Anecdota, published under the title Secret History, which has very little military content.

True, Foyles stocks the Loeb editions of classical works, where the English translation is printed alongside the original Greek (or Latin).

But Loeb books are expensive and somewhat irrelevant if, like me, you have no knowledge of ancient Greek and your final Latin exam score of 11% included 8% for drawing a Roman underground heating system.

Anyway, I am pleased to have made these four purchases and I look forward to reading them, perhaps in a Greek or Italian taverna, when the government restores our liberties.

Books to enjoy